The Department of Family and Children Services investigates cases where there are allegations of child abuse, neglect, and any other matter in which a child is in a potentially dangerous or unsafe situation. However, the Department is able to determine that an allegation is “substantiated” against a party without so much as speaking to that party. The DFCS substantiation is one thing, but the consequence of this could lead to the Party, usually a parent, to be listed on the Child Abuse Registry in the State of Georgia without ever providing his or her side of the story. Essentially, a total lack of due process.
Let’s look at an example: A client is alleged to have physically abused his child. The ex spouse contacts DFCS and DFCS sends someone out to speak with the spouse (not the alleged aggressor) and the child. The department never sends an investigator to speak with the alleged aggressor and simply “substantiates” the claims. This leads directly to the alleged aggressor’s name being added to the Child Abuse Registry.
The alleged aggressor is then informed via REGULAR mail that he or she has been added to the registry and MUST submit the form requesting a hearing to challenge this designation within ten (10) days of the letter. If the individual does not timely respond, he or she loses the right to appeal the determination. Assuming the alleged aggressor submits the form requesting the hearing within the ten (10) day time period, a hearing will be scheduled with an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) with the Office of State Administrative Hearings (OSAH). This hearing has very specific guidelines for filing motions, submitting witness lists, etc. that limit both the Petitioner (alleged aggressor) and the SAAG (attorney for DFCS). The guidelines may be found on the OSAH website: https://osah.ga.gov/.
Though the hearing requires DFCS to carry the burden of proof, the Petitioner is not entitled to representation, even though the results are quasi-criminal if confirmed. Additionally, there is no court reporter present during the hearing. Unless an individual has the wherewithal to schedule their own court reporter, they may not have a record for appeal if the designation is confirmed. Upon a finding that the Petitioner committed an act of abuse, the Petitioner’s next step is to appeal to the Superior Court, assuming a record exists.
Though the Child Support Registry is not a public list, it is still accessible by the Department, childcare agencies, agencies that conduct background checks for employment dealing with children, and police should this individual ever be charged with a crime against a child. Therefore, should the alleged aggressor miss his or her deadline to appeal and request a hearing, or lose at the administrative level and not have a record for appeal in the Superior Court, the designation on the Child Abuse Registry could have dire effects on the individual’s future.
Recently the constitutionality of the Child Abuse Registry was challenged in court by several special education teachers who were substantiated by DFCS for abuse. The teachers then sued the Department of Family and Children Services in Superior Court for Constitutional violations of a lack of due process in putting their names on the Child Abuse Registry. The Supreme Court of Georgia eventually heard the case after the lower court determined that the teachers’ Constitutional rights had been violated, and determined that the constitutional issue could not be addressed since the teachers had not exhausted their administrative remedies through the process required by the Office of Administrative Hearings. At this time, the constitutionality of the Child Abuse Registry has yet to be addressed by Georgia’s highest court.